Trump calls ex-FBI director Comey a 'leaker' after testimony

[June 09, 2017]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump called James Comey a "leaker" on Friday, the day after his former FBI director accused him in congressional testimony of trying to quash an investigation and lying.

"Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication ... and WOW, Comey is a leaker!" Trump tweeted in his first comments since the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday.

Trump broke his silence on Comey's testimony with a single tweet that echoed the points made by his private lawyer after Comey's appearance: The Republican president himself was not under investigation, and Comey gave an account of his conversation with him to a lawyer friend who shared it with a news outlet.

Trump stopped short of saying that Comey lied under oath at the hearing, which occurred a month after Trump fired him on May 9.

Comey delivered a scathing indictment of his former boss, accusing him of trying to block an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn and saying the White House defamed him and the FBI in trying to explain his dismissal.

 President Donald Trump gestures during the Infrastructure Summit with Governors and Mayors at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

He told the Senate panel he took meticulous notes of each meeting or conversation he had with Trump because "I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document."

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Gareth Jones and Lisa Von Ahn)

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